Monthly Archives: June 2020

2020-06-16: News Headlines

Lawrence Wittner (2020-06-16). Let Them Eat Weapons: Trump's Bizarre Arms Race. zcomm.org The price tag for this enormous nuclear buildup, which will occur over the next three decades, has been estimated as at least $1.5 trillion…

Thomas Gaulkin (2020-06-16). Curious Coincidence: The Birth of Donald Trump and the Struggle to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. globalresearch.ca The 45th president of the United States made his first international appearance on June 14, 1946. According to Donald Trump's Five minutes …

yenisafak (2020-06-15). Israel owns 90 nuclear warheads: Report. yenisafak.com Israel is believed to possess between 80 and 90 nuclear warheads, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday. | In a report, SIPRI said Israel continues to pursue a policy of ambiguity regarding its nuclear program. | It said that the number of nuclear warheads in Israel rose to 90, up from 80 warheads in 2019. | "The nine nuclear-armed states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)—together possessed an estimated 13,400 nuclear weapons at the start of 2020," the S…

Alan Macleod (2020-06-15). Trump Rips up Decades-Old WMD Treaty in Order to Sell Drones to Saudi Arabia. mintpressnews.com The Missile Technology Control Regime is the latest in a list of longstanding international agreements that the Trump administration has withdrawn from, often to the benefit of Saudi Arabia and US arms dealers.

South Front (2020-06-14). Video: The Hypersonic Strike Systems of the United States. globalresearch.ca Even two years ago, hypersonic weapons were barely an item of discussion among the US national security establishment. Today these weapons are all the rage. What accounts for that sudden emergence of US interest in this category of weapons, …

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Putin says Russia will be able to counter hypersonic weapons. yenisafak.com President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday Russia was developing the means to counter other countries' hypersonic weapons, local news agencies reported."It's very likely that we will have means to combat hypersonic weapons by the time the world's leading countries have such weapons," the RIA news agency cited Putin as saying.

RT (2020-06-13). Seattle cops banned from using tear gas & stun grenades amid 'anarchist takeover' endorsed by mayor. rt.com Seattle Police have been ordered to stop using pepper spray, tear gas and flash-bang grenades following a lawsuit, further tying their hands as the so-called 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' sprouted around their abandoned precinct. | Handed down by US District Judge Richard Jones on Friday, the order concludes that "on some occasions [Seattle police] used less-lethal weapons disproportionately and without provocation," having a "chilling" effect on free speech amid ongoing demonstrations over police brutality. | "What brings the parties to this Court today are peaceful protesters desiring to engage in their rig…

Marcus Weisgerber (2020-06-13). Pentagon Starts Bailing Out Defense Firms. anti-empire.com The Pentagon has begun to bail out U.S. companies that have seen large parts of their business dry up amid the coronavirus pandemic, in a bid to make sure they can still build weapons. | On Wednesday, officials announced that five mid-tier defense companies had received a total of $135 million to "help sustain defense-critical workforce capabilities in body armor, aircraft manufacturing, and shipbuilding," according to a Defense Department

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Fire on French nuclear submarine at Toulon extinguished. yenisafak.com A fire on a nuclear submarine docked at the French Mediterranean port of Toulon was extinguished early on Saturday morning, the Defence Ministry said.Some 100 firefighters had been called in to tackle the blaze on the Perle, which lasted 14 hours and ended at around 00: 50 a.m. (2250 GMT). the ministry said. It confirmed an earlier statement that no nuclear material was aboard when the fire broke out on Friday.Nobody was hurt and no nuclear materials or weapons were on board the vessel, which was in dry dock for repairs, authorities said on Friday.Toulon is France's biggest naval base and is home to most of its fl…

_____ (2020-06-12). Scottish Parliament Votes For Immediate Suspension Of 'Weapons Of Oppression' Exports To US. popularresistance.org The Scottish Parliament has called for the immediate suspension of exports of riot gear, tear gas and rubber bullets to the United States, in light of the police response to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. | A successful motion, which was backed by 52 votes to 0 with 11 abstentions, says the parliament "stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and considers that the UK government must immediately suspend all export licences for tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear to the US". | Patrick Harvie, the Green MSP who proposed the successful amendment, said the "weapons of oppression", which…

Common Dreams staff (2020-06-12). Amid Push to 'Sell More Weapons Overseas,' Report Indicates Trump Moving to Expand Drone Exports. commondreams.org The expansion would come after a reinterpretation of an arms agreement between 35 nations. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/drones-reinterpret.jpg

2020-06-15: News Headlines

Khalil Gibran Muhammad (2020-06-15). "Out of Options in Terms of Reform" zcomm.org Interview on the Racist History of Police in U.S.

WSWS (2020-06-15). New cases of COVID-19 reach 8 million as Latin America still to peak. wsws.org While the Western Hemisphere is currently the epicenter of the pandemic, there has been a new outbreak in China.

Mike Whitney (2020-06-15). Do Deep State Elements Operate Within the Protest Movement? globalresearch.ca "Revolutions are often seen as spontaneous. It looks like people just went into the street. But it's the result of months or years of preparation. It is very boring until you reach a certain point, where you can organize mass …

David Sims (2020-06-15). Spike Lee Has Made His Most Ambitious Film Yet. zcomm.org Da 5 Bloods is a searing Vietnam War epic that speaks to this moment…

Dr. Hakim (2020-06-15). Listening to our Anger and Angst. dissidentvoice.org The family of a killed protester demand fair distribution of bread (Credit: Tolo News) COVID-19 is clarifying a significant source of global anger and angst: inequality. At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Afghanistan had 300 ventilators, only one ventilator for every 110,000 Afghans. As a medical physician, I gasped, my heart racing at the …

Austin C. McCoy (2020-06-15). The Struggle Against Police Is International. Our Solidarity Must Be Global. zcomm.org These global expressions of solidarity underscore a long simmering discontent with state violence against Black and Indigenous people, and other communities of color…

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano (2020-06-15). A Knee on Our Throats. globalresearch.ca For two months now, most of America has endured a government-imposed lockdown. I hate to use that word — lockdown — as it connotes locking prisoners into their cells during prison disturbances. But it is the word that the government …

WSWS (2020-06-15). Workers' anger grows as auto companies continue coverup of COVID-19 in the factories. wsws.org General Motors and Ford have made it an official policy not to report the number and locations of confirmed COVID-19 cases at their factories, while Fiat Chrysler has also apparently stopped reporting coronavirus cases.

Scott Ritter (2020-06-15). NATO's Colonization of Ukraine Under Guise of Partnership. globalresearch.ca NATO has extended yet another in a long line of "incentives" designed to tease Ukraine with the prospects of joining the transatlantic alliance, while stopping short of actual membership. | The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has designated Ukraine as an …

Eds. (2020-06-15). Statement of Support for Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police. mronline.org Between 1963 and 1972, there were more than 750 Black-led urban revolts in the United States in 525 cities. How did sociologists react?>

Eds. (2020-06-15). Atlanta Police shoot and kill Rayshard Brooks as protests demanding racial justice continue worldwide. mronline.org "This is not the first time a black man has been killed for sleeping," said Rev. James Woodall, state president of the Georgia NAACP.

_____ (2020-06-15). LSE Director: You cannot solve a global pandemic with national policies. truepublica.org.uk By Dame Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics. One of the paradoxes of this pandemic is that even as we are forced to turn inwards, we need each other's cooperation more than ever. Most of us are becoming more self-reliant — staying at home, engaging less with others, even braving baking and …

_____ (2020-06-15). Health Passports — biosurveillance and pervasive health monitoring to be rolled out. truepublica.org.uk By Rob Woodward — TruePublica: VST Enterprises Ltd (VSTE) the British cybersecurity company founded by tech entrepreneur Louis-James Davis announced recently that a 'sports health passport' style app was now in play to help kick start attendance at all British sporting events over the coming months as Britain emerges and recovers from Covid-19. VSTE want …

Edward Curtin (2020-06-15). Bob Dylan's Explosive Song "Murder Most Foul", History of the JFK Assassination and "The Interview" globalresearch.ca Imagine this: A so-called presidential historian for a major television network publishes an interview in the most famous newspaper in the world with the most famous singer/songwriter in the world, who has recently written an explosive song accusing the U.S. …

Prof Susan Babbitt (2020-06-15). Today's Science Deniers: What We Owe Galileo After 400 Years. globalresearch.ca On June 22, 1633, a sick and beaten old man, on his knees, had to "abjure, curse and detest" his view that "the earth moves and is not the centre of the world." It was "one of the most deplorable …

Elie Mystal (2020-06-15). We've Protested for Black Lives Before—and We'll Have to Protest Again. thenation.com We've Protested for Black Lives Before—and We'll Have to Protest Again…

Lu Aya (2020-06-15). Buffalo Police Assault 75-Year-Old Longtime Peace Activist. zcomm.org Now Trump is attacking him too…

Prof. Marjorie Cohn (2020-06-15). Trump's Illegal Use of Military Against Anti-Racist Uprisings Portends Battles Ahead. globalresearch.ca The backlash against Donald Trump's illegal show of military force against anti-racist protesters compelled him to withdraw the troops — for now. But we must continue raising the illegality of this use of the military and pushing for barriers …

Dean Baker (2020-06-15). NYT Gives Up on Logic in News Reporting — Tells Readers of Risk of Relying on China, with Zero Argument. cepr.net The NYT ran a piece with a headline that began "break the China Habit," and featured the subhead, "the risks of relying economically on the Asian superpower have never seemed clearer. But as the world tries to get moving again, it needs China more than ever." Perhaps the paper considered the risks so apparent that …

Eamon Whalen (2020-06-15). How Red Meat Became the Red Pill for the Alt-Right. thenation.com How Red Meat Became the Red Pill for the Alt-Right…

Hauwa Ahmed (2020-06-15). How Private Prisons Are Profiting Under the Trump Administration. globalresearch.ca There are more people behind bars in the United States than there are living in major American cities[1] such as Phoenix or Philadelphia. According to a 2018 report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly 2 million adults[2] were …

Stephen Kearse (2020-06-15). The Racist Roots of New Technology. thenation.com The Racist Roots of New Technology…

Clare Daly (2020-06-15). Request for Compassionate Release of Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca FAO The Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP | Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice | CC The Hon Bob Neill MP | UK Commons Justice Committee Chair | Dear Sir, | REQUEST FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE OF JULIAN ASSANGE | As current and former …

Steve Sweeney (2020-06-15). Minnesota Cops 'Trained by Israeli Forces in Restraint Techniques'. globalresearch.ca Officers from the US police force responsible for the killing of George Floyd received training in restraint techniques and anti-terror tactics from Israeli law-enforcement officers. | Mr Floyd's death in custody last Monday, the latest in a succession of police killings …

Lotus McDougal, Jay G. Silverman, Abhishek Singh, Anita Raj (2020-06-15). Exploring the relationship between spousal violence during pregnancy and subsequent postpartum spacing contraception among first-time mothers in India. thelancet.com : Women who experience spousal abuse during pregnancy have different postpartum contraceptive use patterns. The unique needs of this population should be incorporated into antenatal and postpartum contraceptive counseling. Efforts to increase spacing contraception use in India must consider experiences of gender-based violence and coercion.

Alleen Brown (2020-06-15). Organizers in Minneapolis Weigh Role of Community Defense Groups. zcomm.org "My greatest hope is that we can create a police-free city, and one that's safer and less racist and more beautiful than the one we have now. One where everybody's needs are met and where everybody feels like they have control over what safety looks like in their community."

Elijah J. Magnier (2020-06-15). US Congress "Caesar's Law" Directed against Syria: Who Does It Target and How Will It Affect President Assad? globalresearch.ca In mid-June, the US sanctions against Syria will escalate, with the enactment in Congress of "

Jimin Kang (2020-06-15). What About the International Students? thenation.com What About the International Students?

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-06-15). Trump at West Point: Un-Policing the US World. globalresearch.ca Donald Trump claims to be the law-and-order president of the United States. There does not seem much sign of this as the stitching of the Republic gets undone. Protestors have been given a considerable roughing up across several states; police …

Lawrence Wittner (2020-06-15). Let Them Eat Weapons: Trump's Bizarre Arms Race. zcomm.org In late May of this year, President Donald Trump's special envoy for arms control bragged before a Washington think tank that the U.S. government was prepared to outspend Russia and China to win a new nuclear arms race. "The president has made clear that we have a tried and true practice here," he remarked. "We

Ben Norton (2020-06-15). Wikipedia formally censors The Grayzone as regime-change advocates monopolize editing. mronline.org On Wikipedia, a small group of regime-change advocates and right-wing Venezuelan opposition supporters have blacklisted independent media outlets like The Grayzone on explicitly political grounds, violating the encyclopedia's guidelines.

Philip Weiss (2020-06-15). It Sure Looks Like Trump and Adelson Have Cut a Deal on Annexation. globalresearch.ca Sheldon Adelson, the Israel-loving,

Jamel Shabazz (2020-06-15). Now More Than Ever, We Need Images of Black Dignity and Resistance. thenation.com Now More Than Ever, We Need Images of Black Dignity and Resistance…

Paul Smeaton (2020-06-15). Towards a Digital Police State? Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair Calls for Coronavirus Digital IDs to Prove 'Disease Status'. globalresearch.ca 'Unless you're able to record some of this data in a way that people can use it's going to be difficult to go back to anything like a near normal in things like transport,' said Tony Blair. | *** | Former U.K. …

Gabrielle M Haeusler, Robert Phillips, Monica A. Slavin, Franz E Babl, Richard De Abreu Lourenco, Francoise Mechinaud, Karin A. Thursky, Australian PICNICC study group and the PREDICT network (2020-06-15). Re-evaluating and recalibrating predictors of bacterial infection in children with cancer and febrile neutropenia. thelancet.com Degree of marrow suppression (low platelets), features of inflammation (temperature) and clinical judgement (severely unwell) have been consistently shown to predict infection in children with FN. Recalibration of existing CDRs is a novel way to improve diagnostic performance of CDRs and maintain relevance over time.

yenisafak (2020-06-15). Turkey, Russia to continue talks for truce in Libya. yenisafak.com Turkey will continue talks with Russia to reach a lasting cease-fire in Libya, said Turkey's foreign minister on Monday.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have "agreed to continue working together to establish a lasting cease-fire in Libya," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint press conference alongside his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, who is visiting the Turkish capital Ankara.Libya's government, which enjoys recognition by the UN, has been under attack by warlord Khalifa Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.After launching a counter…

yenisafak (2020-06-15). Muslim | man invents | corona-free bell | for | Hindu temple | in | India. yenisafak.com In the wake of the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across the world, a Muslim mechanic in India developed an innovative bell which can be rung without being touched for a major Shiva temple in the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh. 62-year-old Nahru Khan equipped the bell with an electric sensor after temples were reopened in India with strict measures that included not touching bells to prevent the spread of the pandemic, reported the Indian Express.The development of the bell in question with its electric sensor technology is reportedly one-of-a-kind in India."It's a conta…

yenisafak (2020-06-15). S.Africa: COVID-19 cases top 70,000, deaths at 1,480. yenisafak.com South Africa saw a massive jump in coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, with 4,302 cases recorded, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 70,038.Zweli Mkhize, South Africa's health minister, also said in a statement that 57 more COVID-19 deaths had been recorded, bring the total fatalities to 1,480 with a mortality rate of 2.2%.Despite the high numbers of cases and deaths, health experts continue to applaud South Africa's mass testing campaign.South Africa has so far tested 1.12 million people for COVID-19, with 34,071 tests done over the weekend."The recoveries to date ar…

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (2020-06-15). Friday 6/19: JUNETEENTH: West Coast Port Shutdown. indybay.org Meet at 1717 Middle Harbor Road and caravan to Oscar Grant Plaza…

David Giesen (2020-06-15). Saturday 6/20: The moral ambiguity of Land Value Taxation as restorative justice. indybay.org ZOOM: zoom.us/j/94355008491?pwd=bHJlOXBXN0Yzb2xrMlpNUGZNdjdRUT09

an autonomous multiracial trans (2020-06-15). Sunday 6/28: Pride is a Riot. indybay.org 19th and Dolores, San Francisco | Gather at Noon. March at 2. | Wear a mask. No collaboration with police.

yenisafak (2020-06-15). Turkey: Gov't budget balance posts $14B gap in Jan-May. yenisafak.com The Turkish central government registered a budget deficit of 90.1 billion Turkish liras (some $14 billion) in January-May, the country's Treasury and Finance Ministry reported Monday.Turkey's budget revenue reached 389.1 billion Turkish liras ($60.8 billion) in the first five months of the year, up 12% year-on-year.Budget expenditures rose 15.7% on an annual basis to hit 479.2 billion Turkish liras (74.9 billion) from January to May — marking a 90.1 billion Turkish lira (some $60.8 billion) gap.The budget balance, excluding interest payments, posted a deficit of 25.1 billion Turkish liras ($4 billion) in the fi…

Andrew Korybko (2020-06-15). Pragmatic Advice For Peaceful Protests. thealtworld.com It's imperative that all protests, whether about anti-racism or any other issue, remain peaceful and within the realm of the relevant laws of whichever country they're occurring in otherwise people could get hurt or worse. | The anti-racism protests that have erupted all throughout the West since the death of George Floyd in police custody at the end of last month have unfortunately transformed into a

Khubaka, Michael Harris (2020-06-15). U.S. President Trump sparks renewed interest in Juneteenth Celebrations Globally. indybay.org "In 1535, the first enslaved Pan African were recorded in California. Spanish conquistadors brought enslaved Pan Africans for conquest and who were later breed with indigenous population (Afro-Latino) throughout "New Spain" and much, much later evolved into today's Republic of Mexico. Authentic Alta California History remains cloaked in slavery and secrecy that remains off limits for any principled dialogue as the California State Legislature prepares for a 2020 Juneteenth State Budget due next week.

Local Black and Brown Students (2020-06-15). Midnight March in the East Bay. indybay.org

Norman Solomon (2020-06-15). Corporate Media Are Focusing on Race — and Dodging Class. indybay.org Economic exploitation, hidden in plain sight…

SF NAACP Youth Council (2020-06-15). Friday 6/12: "We are the Future" Youth March for Justice. indybay.org San Francisco City Hall | 1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Pl., San Francisco, CA | Civic Center, San Francisco…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-06-15). Business School named number one UK-based school in FT MSc Finance ranking. imperial.ac.uk The Business School has retained its position as the UK's highest ranked business school for its Masters in Finance by the Financial Times.

yenisafak (2020-06-15). Irish parties agree coalition deal. yenisafak.com Ireland's Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green parties struck a deal to form a new coalition government on Monday that if ratified by grassroots members will end a months-long political deadlock, a government spokesman said.The agreement must be approved over the coming 10 days or so by members from each party, with the smaller Greens requiring two-thirds support, a higher bar than the larger two historic rival parties and which could yet scupper the deal.The parties want the new government in place before the end of June as the fractured parliament cannot pass any new laws, including those to uphold a 6.5 billion eu…

Eye Zen Presents (2020-06-15). Sunday 6/28: Out of Site: SOMA – A Virtual Performance-Driven Queer History Tour. indybay.org This is a virtual/online event. Online at 7pm PT. Link will be sent to all registered ticket buyers.